Alone
by Equalist Shenanigans
Summary: After the heated battle with Councilman Tarrlok, Korra awakens dazed and confused, unaware of where she's going and what's going to happen to her.
1. Confusion

**Characters belong to Bryke and all that good stuff.**

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Korra awoke aching and confused. Every bone in her body felt as if they had been broken, mended, then broken once more. The open wounds covering her face, shoulders, and stomach were bleeding lazily.

She lifted her head to look around the Satomobile she was in, and memories hazily flooded back into her clouded mind.

Innocent citizens nearly being taken into custody, her friends being arrested, her rage, and Tarrlok- bloodbending without a full moon.

She began to sit up, ignoring the warnings her muscles seemed to scream at her. After manuvering into a comftorable enough position despite the given situation, she felt the vehicle roll to a stop, and the driver's side door open.

The weight of the car shifted as Tarrlok stepped out of the vehicle and began his uneven stride to the back of the Satomobile.

When the back doors to the car opened, Korra took in Tarrlok's disheveled hair and deep-enough-to-bleed face scratches, slightly satisfied with herself for giving him almost as much hell as he'd evidently given her.

"What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" she croaked, both throat and mouth alike dry from dehydration. How long has she been out? Had Tenzin and the Order of The White Lotus begun their search for her yet? _Did they even know she was missing_?

"Just making sure you haven't wiggled your way out of your bonds." Tarlok spat, raising his hands in a ready position. "I'm taking you somewhere you can sulk on how horrible an avatar you are in private. Somewhere you won't be disturbed or found. Somewhere you will be **alone**."

With a sudden flick of his wrist, Korra's legs were involuntarily dragging her from the car, eventually placing her firmly on the snowcapped ground.

"Where am I, Tar-?" Korra's sentence was cut short as she tried struggling against the man's bending, to no avail. How could she possibly break free of the grip her own blood had on her?

She'd heared Sifu Katara's stories of the "puppet master" Hama hundreds of times. She'd oogle in awe at her waterbending teacher whenever being told of how heroically the young woman had broken free of the old witch's bending wrath in order to save her friends. It was her favorite story to be told, she'd always admired how brave Katara had been, even at 14.

But the problem was, she wasn't her Sifu. She didn't have the spiritual will to break free, and even if she did, she wouldn't be able to turn Tarrlok's own power against him. It wasn't a full moon, and Katara had forbid her from learning bloodbending at such a young age in the first place- no matter how much she pleaded and begged.

There was nothing she could do but watch in masked horror as Tarrlok harnessed the power to control every single movement of each muscle in her body.

"No more questions, Avatar Korra." Tarrlok snarled. "I've had enough of your unruly behavior. You've gotten in my way long enough. It's time for you to take a break. It's time for you to_ rest_."

With another swift flick of his wrist, Korra felt hot blood rapidly rushing to her head.

This was it. This was the end. He was going to kill her. _He was going to kill her_. She gave a quick prayer to the spirits, praying the next avatar would do better than she had.

It wasn't long before Korra's world went black and her knees collapsed under her. The last thing she could remember before she blacked out was Tarrlok catching her in his arms before her limp body could crumple to the floor.


	2. Alone

For the second time that evening, Korra came to with a clouded mind and hazy memories. One look around the cave she was now in and everything rushed back to her.

Head still pounding, Korra sat up and pulled her legs in close to her chest. The frigid temperature of the cave didn't help her still-aching muscles.

She wouldn't last here long. She'd freeze to death before anyone had the chance to find her.

She was too exhausted to use the 'breath of fire' technique, her muscles were far too strained for any kind of waterbending, earthbending was out of the question, and airbending... well- she** couldn't** airbend. _She couldn't airbend at all_.

In the back of her mind Tarrlok's words echoed, burning holes into her conscience.

**_"Somewhere you can sulk on how horrible an Avatar you are in private. Somewhere you won't be disturbed or found. Somewhere you will be alone."_**

The last word of his insulting speech bit her spirit something fierce. Alone. She was alone, wasn't she?

She was all alone in a cave because she'd been arrogant enough to believe she alone could intimidate Tarrlok into releasing her friends. Arrogant, stupid, and hotheaded enough to believe she could take on the whole world head first.

This was all her fault. She was a failure. A failure of an _Avatar_. A failure of a_ friend_. _A failure of a person_.

Slowly lowering her head onto her knees, Korra began to weep is strangled sobs. "Oh Spirits," she breathed, careful not to raise her voice any louder than a whisper so that her voice wouldn't shed light on two of the very few things she was afraid of- _loneliness and confusion_. "Spirits, what am I to do..."

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**A/N:**

Chapter 2 should be up this Wednesday (6/6/12), or maybe even thursday the latest.


	3. The Liar, The Honest

It was hot. That's what Korra noticed first. It was hot, her cuts stung, and her muscles were numb- but that's not what woke her. What woke her was the distant whispering, low and echoed as if far away.

"Do you think she'll be alright, Healer Sakura?" Whispered a man. She soon recognized it as Tenzin's voice.

"She'll be _fine_, Tenzin, **relax**." A woman whose voice she's never heard before quietly teased, whom she assumed was "Healer Sakura".

"Equalists, he said? **Nonsense**." Angrily whispered yet another woman's voice. Lin Bei Fong's.

"Didn't believe him for a second myself. Perhaps when Korra comes to she can tell us what _really_ happened."

Wait- what? Who were they taking about? Where was she?

Korra had heard enough. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes.

"Korra!" Gasped Tenzin, holding out his hands to help her into a sitting position on the cushioned cot she had been placed on hours before. Her muscles still hurt- hell, she could barely feel them, but she made it work.

From far across the room, a woman in Watertribe garb began washing her hands in a metal basin. Bloody banges lie on a nearby counter top, awaiting disposal.

Korra looked down at her torso and recognized the clear solution covering her now-cleaned wounds as the medicine her mother used to cover her patients in whenever even _her_ extensive healing skills couldn't do much.

"Where am I-" Korra started before Tenzin brought his index finger up to her lips.

"You're in a healing center, run by a friend of mine, Sakura. As soon as I noticed your sudden disappearance I set out several White Lotus search parties. Guard Sentry Howl's party found you in a cave in one of the mountains overlooking the city bloody, passed out, and cold to the touch. I ordered him to bring you here at once." Tenzin took in a big gulp of air before continuing. "Me and Lin would like to know-"

"We'd like to know who did this to you- **if** you can remember..." Lin cut in from beside her Airbending master, arms folded across her chest. She no longer bore the armor that signified Chief of the Metalbending Police, and quite frankly, it was peculiar for Korra to see her in traditional Earth Kingdom clothes.

Korra played over everything Tenzin had just said in her head. She winced at the idea of Howl, her secret best friend from all those years at the compound, finding her bloody, unconscious, and all alone in some cave. She'd have to thank him later for finding her before she froze to death.

Nonetheless, she pushed the thoughts from her mind and returned her attention to the problem at hand. Who _had_ did this to her? She pondered the question, the name so close but so far from the tip of her tongue.

"Tarrlok had sworn it was Equalists, **even had a wound from electrocution to back it up**, but I can never trust a word out of his mouth. Only the spirits_ know _how low he would go for things to be turned in his favor." Tenzin raged when Korra hesitated to answer, subconciously causing the air around him to swirl this way and that, billowing his robe behind him.

"_Tarrlok_." Korra mumbled, almost inaudiable.

"**What**?" Lin pressed, leaning forward, ears now perked up in curiousity.

"Seems that I'll leave you three be." sighed Sakura from the other side of the room. The bandages that formerly occupied the countertop were now in the trash basket, and the water basin had been emptied. "Tenzin. Cheif- er- _Ms_. Bei Fong. Avatar Korra." She bowed to each in turn and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Korra, please repeat yourself. Perhaps louder this time." Tenzin pressed.

"Tarrlok." She enunciated. "It... It was _him_ who did this to me." Korra seethed as she gestured to her entire body. His name was sour on her tongue. Sour. Bitter. _Disgusting_.

"But how? Surely you didn't go down without a fight." Lin postulated, tightening the grip her own arms had on her torso.

"He... he bloodbended me... w-without a full moon."

This caused both of the adult's eyes to widen in obvious horror. Lin whispered a quick curse, but Tenzin remained silent.

"Tell us exactly what happened, Korra. Everything you can recall." He finally replied.

And so she told them. She told them every single detail of every moment she'd experienced in the last 30 hours that she could remember as they listened with intent interest and concentration.

She told them about her needing to be 'removed'. About Tarrlok controlling her every move without the requirement of a full moon, while she looked on in agony. About him tying her up and leaving her for dead. She told them _everything_.

When she finished half an hour later, Lin stood stiffer than ever, and Tenzin was as silent as he'd been when he'd asked her to fill them in.

The two adults turned to eachother and began whispering rapidly. When they were finished 7 minutes later, Lin crossed the room, her ready hands reaching for the doorknob.

"What are we going to do?" Korra asked. She hadn't been able to catch a word from the two's hurried conversation, and her head was beginning to buzz with curiousity.

"The only thing we _can_ do." Tenzin replied, his usually soft and friendly eyes now filled with so much malice and anger, it was almost contagious. "We put these _lies_ of his to **rest**."

"And we do it **my way**." Lin added in a malevolent tone from the other side of the room.

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**A/N:**

So there you go! Finished and all that. Hope you liked it!  
**Please don't forget to review; I could really use the feedback to improve my writing!**


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